Running for Our Lives

Running for Our Lives
Ethan's POV

The air raid sounds were so loud I couldn't think straight.
"We have to go NOW!" Agent Williams grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the back of the stage.
But everywhere I looked, people with glowing blue eyes were climbing over the stadium chairs, trying to reach us. They moved like a swarm of angry bees, all going in the same direction.
"This way!" Jasmine shouted from somewhere behind us. She was waving her hands above her head. "Liam found an exit!"
I turned to look for Alex, but he was still standing near the sound equipment, staring at Reed with a shocked face.
"Alex!" I yelled. "Come on!"
Reed was laughing like a crazy person. "It's too late! In ten minutes, every big city in America will be just like this stadium. Everyone will finally think the same way!"
Alex shook his head and ran toward me. "We can't let this happen."
"We can't stop it either if we're dead," I said, grabbing his hand.
Agent Williams led us down a short set of stairs behind the stage. But when we got to the bottom, controlled people were already waiting for us.
There were at least twenty of them, all standing exactly still with their arms at their sides. Their blue eyes looked right through us like we were ghosts.
"Go back up," one of them said in a flat, lifeless voice. "Professor Reed wants to speak with you."
"Yeah, that's not happening," Jasmine said. She pulled something out of her backpack that looked like a small air horn. "Cover your ears!"
She pressed the button and the horn made a sound almost as loud as the echo from the speakers. The controlled people grabbed their heads and stumbled backward.
"Run!" Liam shouted.
We pushed past the confused controlled people and ran through a door that led to a long hallway. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode.
"Where are we going?" Alex asked, breathing hard.
"Emergency exit," Liam said. He was holding his dad's military radio in one hand and checking his phone with the other. "My dad texted me the building plans. There's a tunnel that goes to the parking garage."
Behind us, I could hear footsteps. Lots of sounds.
"They're following us," Agent Williams said, looking over her shoulder.
We turned a corner and ran into more controlled people. But these ones were different. They weren't just standing around waiting. They were running toward us with their hands stretched out like they wanted to grab us.
"They're getting more aggressive," Alex said.
I had an idea. "Jasmine, give me that air horn!"
She tossed it to me and I caught it. When the controlled people got close enough, I blasted the horn right in their faces. They stopped running and covered their ears, just like the others.
"It's working!" I said. "The loud sounds really do mess with the nanobots!"
We kept running down the hallway. Liam was checking his phone every few seconds, making sure we were going the right way.
"Left here," he said, pointing to another hallway.
But when we turned the corner, we ran right into a group of controlled security guards. These guys were big and strong, and they didn't look like they were going to be stopped by an air horn.
"Stop right there," the biggest guard said. His voice sounded like a robot. "Professor Reed has ordered your immediate return."
Agent Williams pulled out her gun. "I really don't want to shoot you guys. You're not doing this because you want to."
The security guards didn't seem to care about the gun. They started walking toward us anyway.
That's when Liam did something amazing. He turned on his dad's military radio and started turning knobs. Suddenly, the radio started making a high-pitched whistling sound.
The security guards stopped walking and started shaking their heads like they were trying to get water out of their ears.
"The radio frequency is jamming their nanobots!" Liam said. "Come on!"
We ran past the confused guards and finally reached the escape exit. But when Liam pushed on the door, it wouldn't open.
"It's locked!" he said.
Alex looked at the lock. It was one of those electronic ones with a button. "Does anyone know the code?"
"I might be able to hack it," Jasmine said, pulling out her laptop. "Give me thirty seconds."
Behind us, we could hear more footsteps coming down the hallway. And sounds. Lots of sounds, all saying the same thing: "Return to Professor Reed. Return to Professor Reed."
"They're coming," Agent Williams said, pointing her gun toward the hallway.
Jasmine's fingers were flying over her keyboard. "Almost got it... almost..."
The footsteps were getting louder. I could see shadows on the wall getting closer and closer.
"Jasmine," Alex said nervously.
"Got it!" The lock clicked and the door swung open.
We ran outside into the parking garage. It was dark and echo-y, and our footsteps sounded really loud.
"My car is over there," Agent Williams said, pointing to a black SUV.
But as we ran toward the car, more controlled people started coming out of the shadows between the stopped cars. There were dozens of them, maybe hundreds.
"They were waiting for us," I said.
That's when I realized something terrible. The controlled people weren't just randomly walking around. They were organized. They had planned this.
"It's a trap," Alex said.
Agent Williams was already at her car, trying to get the doors opened. "Get in! Get in now!"
We all ran toward the SUV, but the controlled people were closing in from all sides.
I reached the car first and yanked open the back door. "Come on!"
Alex and Jasmine jumped into the back seat. Liam jumped in the front. Agent Williams started the engine.
But just as she put the car in drive, someone knocked on my window.
I turned to look and my blood turned to ice.
It was my mom. She was standing right outside the car, and her eyes were glowing bright blue.
"Ethan," she said in that same flat, lifeless voice all the controlled people used. "Please get out of the car. Professor Reed wants to help you."
I stared at my mom through the window. She looked exactly the same as always, except for those terrible blue eyes.
"Mom?" I whispered.
Agent Williams looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Ethan, we have to go. Right now."
But I couldn't move. My mom was right there, and she was one of them.
How long had she been controlled? Was it my fault? Did Reed attack her because of me?
"Ethan!" Alex grabbed my arm. "We have to leave!"
My mom pressed her face against the window. "Don't leave me, son. Come with us. It's better this way. No more worry. No more pain."
Agent Williams stepped on the gas.